India-England series opener only a week away but TV rights remain undecided in UK

The television rights in the UK for England's tour of India remain undecided with just a week left for the series-opener in Chennai from February 5.

'Telegraph Sport' reported that Star India, the host broadcaster of the series, was considering showing the tour via its streaming app Hotstar instead of selling it to a conventional broadcaster like Sky.

''But India's win in Australia and good audience figures on Sky for England's recent series in Sri Lanka, has increased the market for the rights with even Channel 4 showing an interest,'' claimed the report.

The rights, worth around 20 million pounds, are expected to be awarded soon for the four-Test series, which is part of the World Test Championship.

Sky remains the front-runner to secure them, having shown most of England's tours over the past three decades, the report stated.

The England squad flew into Chennai on Wednesday from Sri Lanka, where they trounced the hosts 2-0. Both England and India players are in the middle of a six-day quarantine.

The first two Tests will be played in Chennai and the final two, including a day-nighter, in Ahmedabad, followed by five T20s at the same venue and three ODIs in Pune.

With most of the people working from home in the UK due to COVID-19 induced lockdown, the Tests are expected to attract record viewership, especially the day-night game which will start at 9am local time.